So just a heads up... creative content for this blog may be a little subpar until things settle down around here.
Today marks the 35th anniversary of Dwight Gooden becoming the youngest player to win 20 games in a season. I jumped on the Dr. K bandwagon early and rooted for him throughout his tenure with the New York Mets... especially during the first few years of his career.
Every morning I'd sit down at the dining room table with the sports section and if he pitched the night before, the Mets boxscore would be one of the first games I'd look for right behind the A's and Giants games.
It's pretty impressive to see what he accomplished at such a young age. Before he turned twenty-one, he had won the NL ROY Award, a Cy Young Award, won forty-one games, struck out 544 batters, and was a two-time MLB all-star.
1985 Topps #620
1985 OPC #41
1985 Fleer #82
1985 Donruss #190
1985 Donruss Box Bottom #PC1
1983 TCMA Lynchburg Mets #10
Every morning I'd sit down at the dining room table with the sports section and if he pitched the night before, the Mets boxscore would be one of the first games I'd look for right behind the A's and Giants games.
1985 Topps PSA/DNA Authenticated Auto #620
1985 Leaf PSA/DNA Authenticated Auto #234
1986 Topps #202
It's just a shame that he didn't end up having the hall of fame career that many of us had predicted back in the mid 80's, when he was arguably the best pitcher in the game. 1985 was his finest season statistically as he became the 21st pitcher in MLB history to capture the Pitcher Triple Crown by leading the National League in wins, strikeouts, earned run average. Actually... he led the MLB in all three categories along with WAR.
I thought I'd honor Gooden today and make him the 21st addition to my baseball Sports Card Trifecta collection...
Rookie Card: 1984 Topps Traded #42T
I'm not exactly sure why I haven't shown off this trifecta before, since I own numerous rookie cards and a handful of autographs and memorabilia cards. If I had to guess, I'd say that I was waiting to land his 1984 Fleer Update card and use it as the rookie card.
After checking the current market rate on a graded copies, I'm going to assume that ship has sailed.
Memorabilia Card: 2005 SP Legendary Cuts Legendary Lineage #LE-DG
Feller might not hold that MLB record anymore, but he still shares the record of most one-hitters thrown with Nolan Ryan. And his The Heater from Van Meter nickname is every bit as cool as Dr. K or The Ryan Express.
Nothing too glamorous about this memorabilia card, but at least it doesn't feature a plain white swatch of jersey.
Autographed Card: 2016 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-DG
I've shown this card off on the blog before. As a huge fan of Topps Archives Fan Favorites autographs, I'm always looking forward to picking up as many affordable singles as I can, but there are always a handful that I really want. That year the checklist was loaded, but Gooden was the autograph that sat atop the wantlist. It took me about a year to track down a copy that fit the price range I set.
Well that's it for today. Here is today's question of the day...
Who was your favorite pitcher(s) back in the 80's?
It's hard to pick just one. Gooden is definitely one of them. But I also really liked Fernando Valenzuela, Dave Stieb, and Dave Stewart.
Oh... and in case you're wondering who held the previous record of being the youngest MLB pitcher to win 20 games. The answer is...
1998 UD Retro Sign of the Times #BF
Happy Tuesday and sayonara!
27 comments:
As a Mets fan, it should surprise nobody that Dwight Gooden is my favorite 80s pitcher... although you've got a better Dr. K collection than I do!
Gooden had the talent, but his early workload combined with his drug problems really ruined things.
Steve Carlton and Tug McGraw.
I love Gooden and actively collect any of his rookies I can find, even duplicates!! My collection pales in comparison to this stuff though!!
I liked the four you mentioned, plus orel hershiser, don sutton, and roger clemens. My 84 fleer update gooden is in my dodger stadium collection and probably wouldn't grade above a 7
Definitely Rags! As a kid I always liked his name.
I wasn’t old enough to follow baseball in the ‘80’s, but I would say Orel Hershiser. He came to popularity in ‘88, and also had a 2.03 ERA and a 19-3 record in 1985, so he had some good years in the ‘80s, and was probably more well known in the ‘90’s because of it.
I love your Gooden collection. He’s one autograph and rookie card I would love to obtain. I’m not 100% sure, but I think I have a jersey card of him. Love the trifecta idea. It’s something I try to do with my favorite players (as well as a refractor).
1. Orel Hershiser
2. Fernando
3. Jerry Reuss
4. Bob Welch
5. (tie) Don Sutton/Rick Honeycutt
I'm faithful to my team.
Another Mets fan here, as you know, and I loved Doc back in the day. Sadly I really don't have that much of a collection of him, and technically I have none of the trifecta, although I do have a non-certified auto, which I was lucky enough to obtain in person a few years ago. He did a signing at a local supermarket, believe it or not. Was a big thrill to meet him. As the radio jingle during Mets games used to go: "Doctor K, all the way...Let's Go Mets!"
I wasn't a Mets fan, but Gooden was the first pitcher I remember knowing by name (I was 8 years old during his rookie season) and he was also one of the first players whose card I actively sought out (I remember during the summer of 1987 buying his fleer card for a dime from a kid during lunchtime in the school cafeteria and thinking it was the most amazing thing I had ever purchased).
I love that 1985 Donruss box bottom card, the photo is so awesome, way better than his regular rookie card.
I had never seen that Doc wax box bottom card.
I'm with Night Owl on this one but with Fernando being #1.
Very cool trifecta (as you'd promised).
Favourite 80s pitcher has to be Rollie Fingers and his amazing moustache.
As a Red Sox fan my favorite 80's pitcher at the time was Roger Clemens.
Gooden was the first MLB player I was aware of who was younger than me (although Jose Rijo was the first MLB player younger than me to actually debut).
Jimmy Key, Dave Steib & Jack Morris
Gooden had an amazing start to his career. Looking back it's disappointing that his career didn't continue on that level or even close to it.
I remember during that era that it seemed that it was the Mets that had all the hot rookies (and rookie cards) - Strawberry, Gooden, Jefferies, Magadan, Elster, Mitchell.
Roger Clemens. He's probably the reason I'm a baseball/Red Sox fan.
The perennially underrated Rick Reuschel.
That box bottom card is awesome. As a Yankee fan in the late 80s there wasn't much pitching to enjoy. My first game in person was a shutout by Charlie Hudson in 1987. I guess he was my first favorite, though he didn't do much after that. Pascual Perez in 1990 was the first pitcher I consciously made an effort to watch his games, because his antics were fun to watch.
Great addition to the trifecta collection! Growing up in lower New York in the 1980s, I was a big fan of Gooden too. Such a phenom. That '84 Traded card is one of my favorites.
Aside from Gooden, I was a fan of Nolan Ryan and Sid Fernandez back then.
Believe it or not (I have posted about it before), I was a Mets fan when I was a kid. I've debated for years on starting a Gooden and Strawberry collection as they were my favorite players back then. The whole drug thing left a sour taste in my mouth that I guess I've never gotten over.
Oh what lovely baseball cards. So great to see them. Gooden was probably my favorite pitcher back then as I was largely a Mets fan. We took some trips to NY to see Yankees and Mets games but I'm unsure if I ever saw him pitch.
There were a lot of iconic pitchers from the 1980s, but I’d still have to say Nolan Ryan for sure.
Great post! As a Reds homer, my fav pitcher in the 80s was Mario Soto. Doc was right up there though. Peace!
Just want to add--if you consider the 1985 Topps to be a rookie, rather than only the 1984, then I have one of the trifecta. Sometimes it's very hard to decide what does and doesn't count!
Great Doc collection. I remember standing in line as a 6 year old in 1983 to see him pitch for the Tidewater Tides (Mets AAA team). The place was insane. Then he came back a few years later for a rehab start. Again, the place was out of control. That 1985 Donruss box bottom was an epic card. Gooden was certainly a "Top 5" pitcher for me but as an 80's kid, it was hard not to get caught up in "Fernando-mania."
shlabotnik report - i went back and forth on collecting him for years. these days i'll grab his cards if they're cheap
elliptical man - yeah. the whole drug thing definitely impacted his career. i'm a big fan of lefty and tug too
the diamond king - i remember the days of putting a gooden rookie card in screwdowns. those were the days. i'll still buy them if i find them for a buck or less
gcrl - i'm not a huge clemens guy, but the way he dominated batters was incredible. i think had he stayed with the red sox, i would have actively collected him.
the lost collector - nice call on rags. he's a bay area fan favorite
jeremya1um - the good news is you can find a gooden autograph for around 10 bucks and his rookie cards for a couple of bucks. i think i'm down on orel, because he dominated the a's in the 88 world series
night owl - lol. are you insinuating that i'm not loyal to my a's? i'll always be faithful to them, but i enjoy watching way too many other guys to only root for them. that being said... i wouldn't root for stieb if he pitched against the a's... or fernando when he pitched against the padres. just when they pitched against the rest of the league
brett alan - wow. had no idea there were so many mets fans. an autograph you obtained in person is 10x cooler than a pack pulled certified autograph. as for the rookie debate, i'm old school. the 1985 topps would be his official rookie card and his 1984 topps traded is his xrc. but that's just my opinion
sean - fleer was hard to get a hold of back in 1987, so a dime for a gooden was a pretty solid purchase. and i agree about the box bottom. it's one of my favorite cards of doc
johnnys trading spot - it's a great card and very affordable. the problem is finding one in good condition
bbcardz - big fan of fernando too
jongudmund - nice call on fingers. probably should add him to my list. my childhood buddy is finger's nephew
npb card guy - that's funny that you mention who was the first mlb player younger than you to play. i thought about writing a post about that. but pat watkins isn't exactly a household name
anonymous - yeah... those mets teams were loaded. i stocked up on elster, magadan, and jefferies at one point or another.
matt - clemens was the king. i felt like you had to pick one or the other and i sided with gooden
nick vossbrink - forgot that he played with the giants. no krukow or hammaker?
bo - when it comes to 80's yankees pitchers, only 3 come to mind: rags, john, and guidry
gregory - the mets sure had an awesome rotation. i was actually more into ron darling
jeff laws - yeah, i understand how drugs could turn a collector off.
peter k. steinberg - that's pretty cool that you got to see mets games at shea and the yankees play at yankee stadium.
sumomenkoman - i probably would have rooted for ryan more if i could afford him as a kid. his cards were always some of the most expensive in every set
cincicuse bill - definitely remember soto back in the day. he might be the only 80's reds pitcher i can name
troublewiththecurve.net - that's awesome that you had the opportunity to see gooden pitch when he was in the minors. as for fernando, i'm a huge fan of him too
The docta is in da house!
Krukow and Hammaker's best years were both before my time as a fan. I also had mixed feelings on Atlee since everyone kept saying I looked like him (funny story that. https://njwv.wordpress.com/2017/07/11/atlee/ )
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